LAKEWOOD—City administrators have proposed a parking fee increase that could end up benefiting residents on the go, while also providing convenience for drivers who do not carry cash.

Mayor Mike Summers is proposing a rate increase at the municipal parking lots on Detroit Avenue, behind Geiger’s and First Federal Lakewood, in conjunction with a repaving project that will also introduce automated payment kiosks, allowing drivers to pay with credit cards.

The catch, Summers said, is that the credit card companies will only operate on a minimum $1 charge.

“So, we compromised,” Summers said. “We’re going to go from 15 minutes free to 30 minutes. If you use your credit card, you’ll buy at increments of $1 per hour up to four hours.”

The presumption, Summers said, is that for the average Lakewood citizen who is running errands, the increased free time balances the equation.

“You can run some good errands in 30 minutes,” Summers said. “If you’re going into First Federal to do some banking or going into Geiger’s to pick up something, you can do that for free. Fifteen minutes previously was pretty tight.”

Summers said factoring in the free meter time, the new rate is comparable to parking rates elsewhere in the region, such as Crocker Park.

Drivers will still be able to purchase 15 minute increments with coins, but one of the big advantages, he said, is that they will soon be able to use their credit cards as well.

“Right now, you show up in Lakewood and if you don’t have any coins you go through the big debate, ‘Do I feel lucky today?’” Summers said.

Officials do not yet have revenue projections based on the increased rates, but Summers said he thinks increasing the free time will make the proposal a revenue-neutral move.

The parking lots could undergo renovation in late August or September. Kiosks would go in at the end of the project.

Summers said officials are also examining other areas of the city and will consider parking fee changes in other regions.

“We’re really focused on Madison Avenue,” he said. “We want to be thoughtful about what happens up there. We want the businesses to have the advantage of customers being able to find them and access them. But we also want to make sure nobody is hogging the space.”

Summers said the city was originally laid out with streetcars in mind, and now there are more than 35,000 cars at any given time.

“Our goal is to have people find a place to park, do what they want to do, and not have anybody monopolize spaces for a disproportionate amount of time,” he said. “Striking that balance is really Lakewood’s challenge.”

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